Once again, here’s your opportunity to not only send a sales and marketing related question to me BUT TO ALSO leave your opinion or suggestion, helpful hint or resource for other people who have posted a question!
This weeks question is from Elizabeth Campbell Duke (no relation to yours truly) of Blinking Star Antiques:
Hi Kim, I just read through the advice to Catherine who sells jewellery through home parties. We have what I think of as the “opposite” problem. Our main business is selling a service that is neither inexpensive nor fun (for the clients). In fact, we meet people when they are going through one of the 2 most stressful times of their lives – a nasty divorce or the death of a loved one.
My husband, Tony Duke, is an antique and personal property appraiser, and I work on the marketting and sales end of things.
We moved to our present location on Vancouver Island last November. As we began to get clients, we were often asked whether we could sell some of the goods. As a related business we now have an antique shop that is busy during the summer months, and slower during the winter (www.BlinkingStar.ca). We cannot ethically offer to purchase anything we have appraised, so we sell goods on consignment.
Sounds great, but things are slow…. and I resigned from my teaching job to learn marketting and sales!
Presently, we are focussing the appraisal marketting at the professionals who can refer us to clients (lawyers, estate planners, insurance agents….) and to the general public through appearances at charity “Roadshow Appraisal” fundraisers and through workshops we run ourselves (which are fun if we can get people out to them). We aim for at least 1 “appearance” per month, and are trying to get Tony into our local community college’s “Elder College” as a speaker for the upcoming fall and winter semesters. Tony has been on the Canadian Antiques Roadshow, and we have permission to use their logo – which we do.
The antique shop is focussed on higher end, but “affordable” (for the antique world) items and quality locally made arts and crafts (funky fused glass, candles, soaps and lotions). We’re working on developing the “Antiques are Green” and “Less is More” ethics… especially if the “Less” is of excellent quality.
We have agreed that to put anything on “sale” gives people the impression that our “regular” prices are too high – both in the appraisals end of things as well as at the antique shop. It seems like we’re …..almost there, but we need some tweakin’. I know we live on the Island, but I’m still on mainland time – and we need to kick-start these businesses.
Elizabeth Campbell Duke
Blinking Star Antiques
http://www.BlinkingStar.ca
http://www.TonyDuke.ca
Share your advice with Elizabeth (and me!) in the comments of this post
We can always use more questions so send in one. Wouldn’t you love to benefit from free advice from fabulous women all over the world? (and one certain Sales Diva)
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